How to make a jsgrid select field with autocomplete, showing the label but returning the value

Question

In jsgrid I'm trying to transform a regular type:select field into a autocomplete field, using https://codepen.io/beaver71/pen/rpaLEo as an example. BUT how to transcribe this so that the form shows the labels but transfers the values to the database? using:

var tags = [
  {label:"tag1", value:"201"}, 
  {label:"tag2", value:"202"}, 
  {label:"tag3", value:"203"}
];

instead of the default:

var tags = ["tag1", "tag2", "tag3"];